Half to henry b



(No Model.)

' W. S. WATSON.

GATAMENIAL SACK.

No. 393,408. Patented Nov. 27, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT tries.

\VILLIAM S. \VATSON, OF M ATTEAWVAN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOHENRY B. BEVIER, OF SAME PLACE.

CATAMENIAL SACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,408, dated November27, 1888.

Application filed November 21, 1887. Serial No. 255,832.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM S. WATSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Matteawan, in the county ofDutchess and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oatamenial Sacks,of which the following is so full, clear, and exact a description aswill enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

This invention relates to an improvcmentin eatamenial sacks, or sacksdesigned to be worn by females during the menstrual period; and itconsists in certain peculiarities in the construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described,and particularly pointed out in the claim at the. end of thisspecification.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, similar lettersof reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure .l. is a perspective of my improved catanienial sack, showing itin its entirety. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the form of buckle which Iemploy on the waist-belt. Fig. 3 is a detail of another form of bucklewhich I employ. Figs. 4 and 6 are detail representations of the claspsor hooks, showing the different manners of connecting them with thesupporting-straps. Fig. 5 is a perspective ofone form of buckle used onthe depending straps.

A represents a sack or pouch proper, and B the raw cotton, sponge, orother absorbent material contained therein and adapted to catch andretain the discharge, and whichmaterial may or may not be medicated toprevent septic poison. This sack or pouch A may be made of any suitableimpervious material; but it has been found by experiment thatindiarubber will perform the function in a perfect manner and can bereadily and easily cleansed when desired. From the rear of this pouch orsack A extends a strip, D, preferably of rubber, the sides of which areslightly bent up in order to form a trough, by means of which any of thedischarge which overflows the pouch or sack will be guided back to it;and from the front of the sack two inelastic strips, E,

(No model.)

extend upwardly and are formed with reenforced perforations e in theirouter extremity for the reception of hooks, catches, or buckles situatedupon the supportingstrips, as will be hereinafter fully described. Themouth ofthis sack or pouch A is held open or in a distended position bymeans of a spring-wire or other suitable device, 0, as shown in Fig. 1,and the ends of the sack overlap this wire, so that no hard surface ispresented to chafe the person of the wearer. The bottom of the sack orpouch A is formed inclined and is deepest at its rear extremity, a,which rear extremity extends preferably straight up fora suitabledistance, when it may be curved outwardly, as at b, and continue to theupper extremity of the sack. It will thus be observed that when thewearer is in a sitting or reclining position the discharge will flowtoward the rear end of the sack and will be held there, so that alltendency to overflow and soil the person or clothing of the wearer isavoided, and even though some small portion should overflow it will beguided back into the sack by the trough D, as heretofore explained.Extending upwardly from this trough D, and secured thereto by cementingor otherwise, is a tube or strap, F, of rubberor other suitablematerial, and adapted to rest between the nates when the device is inposition upon the patient. Obviously by forming this portion F tubularin form it will be more pleasant to the wearer and less liable to chafeher, and by friction from constant wear the device will get more smoothand comfortable, if possible, owing to its being formed of rubber and ofthe forrn stated. This sack or pouch A is supported from the waist ofthe wearer by means of the belt G and the depending straps I, I, and I".The straps I and I are preferably made of so me elastic material-as,forinstance, garter-web-the purpose of which will be readily seen, and theyare made independently adjustable, preferably by means of the buckles iand i, the buckle being shown in detail in Fig. 2 and the buckle 1."being shown in detail in Fig. 3. To the lowermost extremities of thestraps I andl' hooks or clasps H are secured by stitching or otherwise,and a similar hook is also secured to the strap I; but

owingto the difference of the manner of adjustment between the straps Iand I and that of I the hook of the said strap I is attached to a ringor loop, J, which encircles the said strap, and is adapted to besituated inthe lowermost extremity of the said strap, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 5. These hooks H are a feature of prime importance in myinvention, and may be formed of a single piece of springwire bent intothe form of a loop, h, at its upper extremity, and having a pair ofdownwardlyextending arms, h and 71", one of thearms as, for instance, la-being formed with a projection, h, extending, preferably, at an angleto the said arm, and the other of the said arms, ash, being formed witha loop, m, to receive the said projection. These arms are adjustednearer to or away from each other, in order to clasp or unclasp thedevice, by means of a cot lar, If. The hooks H serve to connect therubber strip E and the tube F with the dependent straps l, I, and I, andfor this purpose the said rubber strips and tube are formed withperforations e and f, respectively, and obviously the hooks h" of theclasps are adapted to be situated on one side ofthe said strip and tube,and the arm having the projection h on the opposite side, with the saidprojections extending through the perforations e andf and through thering or loop h. It will thus be observed that by slipping the collar htoward or away from the loop h the two arms will be caused to cometogether or spring apart in order to secure the sack to the supports ordisconnect it from them, as the case may be. It will be observed,further, that when the collar h is slipped back from the loop h the twoarms will, by reason of their elasticity, spring apart, and the sack canbe removed from its support without the necessity of unbuckling thebelt.

Each of the buckles, and in fact all of the parts of my device whichwill present a surface liable to chafe the wearer, is covered with apad, k, of some sort of material-as, for instance, chamois-skin-as shownin the drawings.

Although I have described my device as being adapted to be used byfemales during the menstrual period, it will be quite obvious that itcan be used during the local drainage following childbirth; also in caseof inconstancy of the urine, and as a receptacle for all otherdischarges from the parts.

Having now described the construction,combination,and advantages of myinvention,what I believe to be new and desire to secure by LettersPatent, and what I therefore claim, is-

A catamenial sack or receptacle, of rubber, having double hemmed andextended edges and an inclined bottom, and provided with an auxiliaryextended trough at the rear extremity, and a springwvire for holding itsmouth in a distended position, in combination with straps at its frontend, a tube or strap at its rear, and a belt and depending strapsindependently adjustable by means of buckles, all constructed andcombined for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

WILLI AM. S. \V ATSON.

Witnesses:

H. B. BEvrER, CONRAD BEVIER.

